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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · band · dip · root · lean · cap · degree · capital

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. root — the cause
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. lean — thin
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cap — a hat
  8. capital — a city
  9. cap — a lid
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. capital — money
  13. root — of a plant
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cap — of ice
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — to bend
  18. band — a music group
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com